Windies vs England: Hosts leave out Andre Russell from the T20I squad

Two-time world champions Windies had to go through the qualifying rounds for the upcoming ICC World Cup but months ahead of the big tournament, their form looks to be picking. They recently beat England 2-1 in a Test series and came back to draw the ODI series 2-2, displaying sublime forms with both willow and the leather. The reigning T20 champions will now take on the Three Lions in a three-match series starting Tuesday. The first match will be played in Gros Islet.

However, the hosts were in for a blow as dashing all-rounder Andre Russell was ruled out of the T20I series owing to injury conditions. The Caribbeans have named a 13-member group for the three-game series with Jason Holder set to captain them in place or regular T20 skipper Carlos Brathwaite. This is because the selectors wanted the 50-overs team to spend more time together ahead of the ICC World Cup so that the side hones its strategy and skills further in the preparatory stage.

However, the Windies will go into the T20I series without an injury-prone Russell as the latter was excluded from the squad due to an ‘adverse reaction’ he had to a medical treatment. With 52 ODIs and 47 T20I under his belt, the Jamaican could be an asset for any team and his absence will certainly be a worrying factor for the Windies.

The Windies decided to retain their ODI squad that played against England in the T20Is after discussion with coach Richard Pybus. “After discussion with the coach surrounding preparation for the ICC CWC 2019, it was proposed that we retain the ODI squad to play the T20 matches against England,” Sportstar quoted the chairman of selectors Courtney Browne as saying.

All eyes will also be on Chris Gayle who was in a superhuman form in the just-concluded ODI series, amassing over 400 runs in four games. He hit two hundreds in the series and two fifties, including a 27-ball 77 in the final ODI to virtually transform it into a T20I. “After deliberations with captain, coach and the panel, we all are of the opinion that it would aid in the team’s World Cup preparations,” Browne added.

West Indies T20I squad 

Jason Holder (captain), Fabian Allen, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Devendra Bishoo, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Sheldon Cottrell, Ashley Nurse, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas.

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